The 2022 game bird hunting season will be officially declared open next Saturday (August 20) and will close on September 25.

In a statement, the National Environment and Planning Agency noted that the season is declared under the Wild Life Protection (Game Birds) (Declaration of Shooting Season) Order, 2022.

The season’s hunting sessions are from sunrise to 9:00 am and 2:30 pm to sunset on Saturdays, and from sunrise to 9:00 am on Sundays.

Only the following game birds are to be hunted during the season:

• Zenaida Dove/Pea Dove
• White-winged Dove
• White-crowned Pigeon/Baldpate
• Mourning Dove/Long-tailed Pea
  Dove

The overall bag limit per hunting session is 20 birds. No more than 15 shall be White-crowned Pigeons.

Hunting within game reserves/sanctuaries, forest reserves, the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, and within 50 metres of the respective boundaries is prohibited.

Hunters’ Licence

Anyone who wishes to take part in the 2022 Game Bird Hunting Season must obtain a hunters’ licence. A hunters’ licence may be obtained from NEPA’s head office at 10 Caledonia Avenue, Kingston 5, its office in Port Antonio or any of the authorised vendors strategically located across Jamaica.

A licence costs $25,000.

All applicants must posess a valid firearm licence/user’s permit for a shotgun and a Tax Registration Number to be eligible for purchasing a licence.

Hunters who failed to submit hunting reports over the past 5 years or who failed to pay the subsequent late processing fee of $5,000 will be required to pay the late processing fee before a Hunter’s Licence for the 2022 Hunting Season is granted.

For more information on the 2022 Game Bird Hunting Season, please contact the National Environment and Planning Agency during weekdays at 876-754-7540 ext. 3602 or toll free at 888-991-5005.

hotograph 1: Photograph showing a White-crowned Pigeon (locally known as the
Baldpate); one of the four species of birds allowed to be hunted